This “new” research on gut health caught my eye a few weeks ago, so I decided to count. I easily get over 30 plants per week in my diet. I’m usually up to thirty within just a couple of days. My kids and husband, not so much. I don’t think they come anywhere near 30.
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With their definition of “plants” my H and I are easily there! Just with our dinner tonight (special meal for H’s birthday) we will have 12. (And a different 3 at lunch).
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How do they define a plant? If I ate 3 tomatoes, is it one (type of) plant or 3 plants? Makes a difference. The article doesn’t have a good answer.
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I read the book. If you ate 3 beefsteak tomatoes, it would be one. But if you had a red tomato and then another yellow tomato variety, it would be 2. Spices and grains count. Beans, nuts, tofu, anything that grows.
Some examples they gave to increase your plant diversity were to add more than one kind of bean to your chili, use multiple lettuces in your salad, add lot of different herbs to your cooking, have a fruit salad.
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While I find it easy to get 30 within a couple of days, I find that the number peters out over time as foods get repeated (they only count once). So while on Tues I may get to 30, I’d say by the end of the week I only have in the high 40s.
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If you’d asked how many plants I murder in a week, you’d know why I don’t garden.
DH and I easily eat 30 a week. Just our daily salad has 11, but we’ve been eating a heavily plant-based diet for years.
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So varieties. Someone who eats 10 bananas and 10 apples a week eats 2 plants. Ridiculous recommendation for many reasons.
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I don’t know that I buy this method - maybe if you really really need an adjustment in your gut health it will make a difference and is certainly worth trying.
I can understand if you told me you only ever eat bananas, apples, carrots and green beans. Never any other “plants”.
But my Costco method of shopping usually has my fruit/vegetable majority of the week focusing on 2 maybe 3 fruits and same of vegetables weekly. Since these are larger quantities, that’s what we eat for the week. Next week I’ll still buy the 2 or 3 of each but change up the varieties. For instance this week, blackberries, peaches and raspberries. Next week, watermelon, blueberries and pineapple.
I think as long as there is variety in the long run I’m good. 
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I just read the list of ingredients in my green gummies - 29 of what the article would count as plants. 
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I just sprinkled some Japanese seven spice on potatoes. Pretty sure everything in that spice grows in dirt or seabed. Got 8 plant counts for one meal. Tomorrow, I’ll use Georgian ajika spice and will be half way through. 
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I agree with variety, but think about if you have oatmeal with blueberries, cinnamon, and walnuts for breakfast then corn tortillas with tomatoes, lettuce, onion, bell peppers, and a serrano or jalapeno pepper (toppings plus salsa) along with some refried pinto beans, and then for dinner you eat a salad with mixed baby greens (3 types?), dried cranberries, apples, and pine nuts, you’re already at 18 different plants. Other days you might eat rice, or quinoa, or green beans, or strawberries, or, or, or. Lots of plants in there!
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Four plants right there! 
(leftover wine from our fancy lunch which had god knows how many other “plants”).
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It feels a little like something else to “keep score on”. If I’m eating a variety then I’m probably fitting in a variety of nutrients that different plants have to offer. I don’t think I need a timeline to get a target # in a # timeframe.
Also what about quantity? If I walk around my yard and eat a leaf of 2 types of basil, sprig of 2 varieties of parsley, a sprig of mint, rosemary, sage leaf, bit of thyme, and a nip of chives that’s 9 plants I’ve eaten though it was just a tad of each??
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Oh, I’m not saying one needs to keep “score” on the 30/week. I’m saying that even if you’re only choosing 3 different fresh fruit per week, that you’re probably eating lots of other “plants.” And some people have come up with some very efficient examples providing numerous “plants!”
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Because this is about the gut biome and not nutrients small bits are fine.
It’s not something I’d keep track of long term, but it was interesting to see how many plants I eat.
I do think it would be a fun thing to do with younger kids to emphasize eating a variety of plants (eat the rainbow) without making it about avoiding fats, sugar, carbs, etc.
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